at their meeting on Thursday, they confirmed the 2012 schedule. http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/racing/entries/2011/11/03/report_key_f1_group_makes_no_c.html?cxntfid=blogs_formula_austin
http://www.statesman.com/sports/formula1/neighbors-near-f1-track-fear-encroaching-wildlife-1951878.html
wonder how long they'll be missing their critters when they start charge $20 to $50 a car for parking in their yard.
One Word: Drought Basically 5 years of it. Wildfires causing habitat destruction. Urban sprawl everywhere. Parsing this along lines of COTA responsibility is beyond absurd, IMO. I live 100 miles away and am suffering similar hardships...well, except that I invested in major irrigation and am keeping my animals properly fenced and my fences can turn away most of these predators, and I watch for 'diggers'. I shoot coyotes when I have the opportunity. And they will wish they hadn't come in when they run in to some of the exotics I keep, but I have also had losses of goats elsewhere. Show me someplace in Texas that doesn't have coyotes....really. No, I don't see them regularly, but I hear them constantly at night, and I see what they do to MY goat population. I am through messing with goats.....they are fodder for coyotes.
Two sentences in the article explained everything and they were provided by the Texas Parks and Wildlife. I'm sorry, but this story is crap. I'm not sure if it's common for the Statesman to not accept comments at the end of the article, but it sure is funny to me how this one isn't. Sure some animals are displaced, but to imply all of it is due to the track is a reach. Axecent hit it on the head imo.
Not sure if this is just the media grasping of a story,... but even talk of corruption at the top is never good when trying to give away tax moneys... http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-texas-quiet-but-f1-nervous-as-corruption-saga-deepens/ http://www.statesman.com/sports/formula1/texas-wont-speculate-on-how-bribery-trial-might-1962045.html
Has Tavo Hellmund entered the witness protection program? With 1 year (+1 week) to go, one would expect the race promoter to be a tad more visible. NY/NJ GP promoter, Leo Hindery, is far more visible and out from than Tavo... To be fair,... Tavo was quite visible 18 months ago when the project began... But, since early / mid summer, the secret service gives more press conferences / releases regarding presidential security than Tavo does RE COTA...
Bernie speaks again of doubting Austin GP,... this time at the Abu Dhabi GP... http://www.supersport.com/motorsport/formula1/news/111112/Austin_GP_doubtful_says_Ecclestone http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/formula-1-boss-bernie-ecclestone-unsure-whether-2012-race-in-austin-will-go-ahead/2011/11/12/gIQAFAPtEN_story.html
Given how careful Bernie normally is in choosing his words and how he avoids creating controversy knowing full well it only hurts his $ bottom line, these are VERY strong statements. Kiss of death, IMHO.
Oh my. The statements from Bernie are hilarious and some think Austin is safe! Time to start thinking NY/NJ id say! WOW! Those are blunt. Love the part about the 2 parties forgetting to talk to each other. How amateur if true. This soap opera is only beginning as I posted before! Popcorn time!
We'll change the title back once Speed TV has made a special presentation feature about the progress. That is Varsha and Matchett. Hobbs will have nothing to do with that. ...hmm, I'm having a deja vu moment here.... PS: I'm glad I made my hotel reservation for next year's GP in Milan and not in Austin
Bernie is careful in choosing his words? Gonna guess here that Tavo is getting pushed out by the other partners, and Bernie is trying to put pressure on them to keep Tavo around. When it comes down to it, Tavo isn't needed to get the $25MM from the State to pay the sanctioning fees, and Bernie isn't going to turn down that check when it comes in the next few weeks.
Yes, Bernie is normally insanely PC when it comes to speculation. So him being so careless this time is either because of what you are saying or because he has already given up completely and just waits for Tavo to pay the non compliance penalty.
The lack of marketing alone is ensuring this project is continuing to be the train wreck it is. Even if they host a race, the events going on the same weekend will severely over-shadow it as the US market is great for anything but soccer and F1. Surely you are astute enough to know this.
While I'd love to see it happen, it does seem that the whole thing is getting less & less likely the more time passes...... When Bernie speaks up it's either; 1 - A Bernie "wind up" or 2 - He knows more than we do. If the whole thing hinges on the state subsidy they're in deep doo-doo IMHO. Cheers, Ian
Pretty clear? Not from my seat Close,... but the way it'll play out is that they'll be throwing the checkered flag in NJ and you will claim that the race happened.
Don't forget that Bernie likes to stir things up a bit to get things moving along (for evidence of this just look at what he did with Silverstone!). Bernie said: Speaking to reporters at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Ecclestone reiterated his worries about the situation in Austin. "We are trying," he said. "It is a bit of an uphill struggle but we will try and get there. "There are two parties. One has got a track and is building it, and the other has got the contract. And they forgot to talk to each other." When asked if the race was becoming more doubtful, Ecclestone said: "I think not. They want it to happen, they will sort it out." My monies still on the race taking place.
